


Uptempo

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Fingering, Bottom Shiro, Dirty Talk, Frottage, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Omega Shiro, Omega Verse, Oral Sex, Scent Kink, Weird Biology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-17 10:20:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8140511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Shiro’s heat is coming for the first time in years and he wants to handle it alone, to keep it as simple and uncomplicated as possible. His teammates think that’s a bad idea.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AKA: Shiro gets fucked. A lot. Eventually.

They cornered him after breakfast, the three of them in pajamas but looking deadly serious. Coran and Allura were already gone and Pidge scurried out with a disgusted huff of “Boys.” and that just left Hunk, Keith, and Lance, eyes on him, pinning him in place without any contact.

He wanted to curl up and hide, to avert his eyes and expose his neck, to-

“We need to talk about your heat.”

Shiro was not an omega who resented how he’d been born or had some deep seething hatred for his heat cycles. He didn’t dread them but, then, had hadn’t had one since he was 16. He didn’t take issue with the expectations people had or the occasional dumb question about when he intended to find time to mate or have children or that some people in training didn’t cope well with being bested by a ‘breeder’. People like that were idiots and Shiro had never had time for idiots.

The worst thing about being an omega was that when he was 14 and newly presented his parents had handed him a box of sex toys to deal with his heat. That still ranked pretty damn high of his list of utterly mortifying moments in his life. He’d gone through a few ‘empty’ heats, as they were called when an omega went it alone, and they sort of sucked but he’d learned a lot about his body and what he enjoyed so it hadn’t been all bad. Then he’d enrolled at the Garrison and gotten a long term suppressant implant to kill his heats.

He’d sat through the lecture about affected fertility (Shiro didn’t particularly want or enjoy children so that was more than fine) and the damage not going through a heat at least once a year could cause, about how his libido might be diminished and scent affected. He’d accepted it, signed on the dotted line, and enjoyed 6 wonderfully heat free years. He’d been grateful for it when he’d been a Galra prisoner, things had been hard enough without throwing in a heat.

But it seemed the suppressants were wearing off. To be expected, they were good for 3 years and he’d long since hit the point where he needed to switch it out. He’d known it was coming, had been on pins and needles waiting for the first sign of it with an ever growing sense of dread.

He didn’t hate heats. He just didn’t appreciate being forced to go through 3 to 7 days, depending on fertility, hormone levels, and when a person’s last heat had been (which was to say Shiro was screwed), of being desperate to be fucked. He was sure gross sweaty marathon sex appealed to some people but he’d always prefered to spend his time studying or training.

It was just a major inconvenience at the best of times and in the middle of a war, where they were major underdogs, was not the best of times. He really didn’t want to have to deal with it when there were so many other more productive ways to spend a week than locked in his rooms with his fingers up his ass.

And what if they needed to form Voltron when he was at one of the ‘high points? Heat waves came and went, crested at points where an omega was almost incoherent with need and waned at low points where they were mostly normal, just a little physically (and maybe emotionally) oversensitive, but that was only if the heat was…satisfied. An empty heat could be all high points and with his luck…

So that’s what it was. Not a desire to deny biology or thinking he was above omega things. It wasn’t about disliking being in heat, being vulnerable and out of his head and feeling like a stranger in his own skin, and it was not a complaint about being an omega in general. It was just…inconvenient. he had things to do. A team to lead.

And, speaking of his team, he could tell they could tell it was coming up. He could smell it, the first clinging touches of fertile sweetness he couldn’t wash off his skin or cover up, so he knew they could to.

It was just his luck that they were a betaless team. He didn’t even want to think of what the odds were of five random people ending up together with not a single beta among them.

Lance, the other omega, had been watching him since his scent had changed. Shiro wasn’t sure of he was readying curiosity, sympathy, or some kind of sexual interest from Lance, or maybe all three. But there was something in the way Lance watched him. And not just watching but standing and sitting closer to him, touching him in a soft lingering way that made Shiro’s skin tingle and he knew it was just his body happy to have another omega near, they were the most social dynamic supposedly but Shiro had never really…indulged in omega bonding (busy, he was always so busy) before. But obviously his reaction to Lance was very much his body trying to encourage him to connect and give in to that desire.

Hunk was watching him too, openly and often, dark brown eyes friendly and warm like they always were but also. Also Hunk was looking at him like single alphas looked at single omegas who weren’t Shiro because no one looked at Shiro like that. His scent had been near wiped out, he hadn’t ever grown the softer, rounder hips or small chest omega males generally (60-75% of omega males would qualify as an A cup, a rare 10% larger than that) grew in their late teens because of his suppressant use. He just didn’t attract alpha attention and he was fine with that. Alphas complicated things, confused them, and Shiro had never had time for those sort of things.

But there was Hunk watching him like he wanted to eat him. And pushing more food his way, looking oh so satisfied when Shiro ate it (and Shiro was eating everything, couldn’t seem to help himself.) Touching his wrist sometimes, almost absently like he didn’t realize it was happening, leaning into his personal space and Shiro was just letting it happen. Blushed and stuttered but never told him to stop.

Keith. Keith was avoiding him, in so far as they could avoid each other. Keith was an alpha and had always known he was an omega but it had never been an issue yet, suddenly, Keith was putting space between them, declining offers to spar, fidgeting when Shiro entered a room then hastily leaving. And watching him, just like the other two, but Keith would blush and turn away if Shiro caught him. Gone was the easy friendly contact between them, the late night talks, the companionable silence as they looked out into the seemingly endless space around them.

It stung in a way Shiro hated. The omega part of him, lazily waking up to take in the world and take him over, read it as rejection. It kept him up at night, thinking about Keith.

Pidge, thankfully, was completely unmoved. An alpha but either young enough to not care or just not interested her only contribution to the growing insanity had been a scrunched up nose and “You smell.”

Allura and Coran were aware, had been given the rundown on human biology and Shiro had further informed them that his heat was coming and would probably be bad. He’s felt embarrassed the whole time, ashamed that he as their supposed leader was the one putting them at risk because of his biology (which he didn’t resent or wish was different). But they’d been calm and understanding and started making plans to find some pit of the way planet to land on when needed I. Hopes they’d be able to stay out of trouble for a change.

He couldn’t stand that arrangements were being made around him, because of him.

This was everything he’d wanted to avoid with the suppressant implant. The wasted time, the plans that had to be made, the way things and people changed around him, the risk to the team dynamic.

That was his biggest concern. Heats could change things if a person wasn’t careful. Feelings could form if they were spent with someone. Feelings could get hurt if an offer to share a heat was refused. Rivalries could happen if more than one person was interested.

He didn’t want to deal with that.

He cleared his throat nervously. “I’d rather not.”

Lance, sitting at his right, shot him a look that strongly implied this wasn’t a matter up for debate. “So you were what, going to spend it alone?”

Shiro blinked. “Yes? What else did you think I was going to do?”

Keith was across the table from them, close but not too close, glaring down at his hands but his eyes darted up at the question. He looked at Lance then at Hunk then back at Shiro before returning to his hands. He sunk down in his seat, looking miserable.

“We thought you’d pick one of us.” Hunk said, hand finding Shiro’s wrist. Rough fingertips touched the inside of his wrist, stroked gently, and the knot that was forming in Shiro’s chest loosened. “We’re all willing to help. Heats go faster that way.”

“I can handle this fine alone.” Shiro said, shaking his head. “I don’t need you two-”

“Three.” Lance interrupted, grinning widely. “I’ll have you know the other omegas at the Garrison loved me. No knot but I am great with my-”

“Lance!” Shiro didn’t bother trying to keep the sharpness out of his voice and could feel his face heating up. Lance shrugged, shameless. “I am…I appreciate the offer but I really think I should do this alone.”

“It’ll last longer that way.” Lance pointed out. “You’re already looking at…um. How long ago was your last heat? Not…it was before the Galra, right?”

Shiro felt a shift in the air, smelled the mixture of worry, anger, and anxiousness mingling in their scents. He rubbed at the scar across his nose; in any other circumstances he’d ignore the question but Lance’s voice had gone so small and worried and Hunk and Keith were holding themselves rigidly, tense with anticipation of what he might say.

Of what might have happened.

“Six years and some change.”

Hunk’s mouth dropped open and Lance’s eyes went so wide Shiro half thought they might pop out.  

“You haven’t gone into heat in six years?” Keith asked quietly, face melting into a pinched expression of shock and worry. Something hard and heavy settled in Shiro’s stomach; it felt like…guilt? “What the hell Shiro, do you not know how dangerous that is? You could have gotten sick-”

“You could still get sick. Heat sick, which I hear sucks, and your heat is going to be miserable even if you aren’t.” Lance added.

“The point is I don’t want to make things complicated. I can do this alone.”

—

Shiro left, staying firm to going through his heat alone, and as soon as he was out of earshot Lance was rolling his eyes.

“There is no way he’ll get through it alone. I skip two heats and I’m ready to die. Six years is insane.”

Keith shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. “We can’t force him to accept one of us if he doesn’t want to.”

“Yeah man,” Hunk ran a hand through his hair, eyes falling back to where Shiro had been sitting. “If Shiro says no then the answer is no.”

Lance waved a hand dismissively. “So we try to convince him he wants to say yes. To all three of us.” He narrowed his eyes at them. “A heat after that long is going to be more than either one of you can keep up with. I could, of course-” He pointedly ignore their skeptical looks. “But a knot or two would be useful.”

“Glad to be useful.” Hunk’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. Keith sank lower in his seat, looking very much like he wasn’t glad to be useful at all.


	2. Chapter 2

He didn’t hear anything else about his heat for a few days and assumed there was nothing more to say about it. They had understood his stance and were leaving it alone, just like he’d asked, which was exactly what he’d asked for. There was less hovering and Shiro was actually starting to feel like things were going to go back to normal.

Right up until he found himself doubled over in pain in the training room. He’d been ready for cramps, he remembered them from his early heats. He understood his biology well enough to understand why it happened; uterus contractions, the softening and opening of the internal passage, the gland that produced lubrication swelling, and muscles relaxing. If he thought about it logically he could even understand why it was so much worse than he remembered. Six years without those parts doing much of anything was bound to make things rusty.

It hadn’t started out so bad or lingering like it was. At first it had been mild and occasional, nothing he couldn’t work through and could keep hidden other than shifting in discomfort a few times at lunch. No one had seemed to notice, save a curious look from Lance,  but the pain had gotten progressively worse as time went on. By the time he’d gone to hit a few training robots, ignoring Hunk’s frown and Keith poorly hidden look of concern, he’d been seriously considering just…not working out.

But he wasn’t much for days off, never had been, so he’d gone about doing what he always did after lunch. Spar with the robots, hit the Altean version of a treadmill (which involved interactive holograms of enemies), lift and then check in with the others to see how they were doing.There was always stuff to do and he wasn’t actually in heat yet so there was no excuse to slack. He could deal with cramps just like he could deal with an empty heat.

…he was forced to admit he’d had better plans.  

For all that he understood what was happening and why it was hard to approach things logically when he felt like someone had taken ahold of his intestine and was squeezing and twisting them. It was a sharp gripping pain, had him bending at the waist and holding his stomach as it radiated from his lower abdomen around to his back and up his spine. It stopped for a few moments, let him catch his breath and shut down the training simulation but then it was back with an added spasm of his back muscles. All he could do was lean against the wall and curse his body, curse the depleted implant, curse his luck, and wait it out.

That was how Lance found him. The younger omega poked his head into the training room and, with a noise of alarm, rushed over to him. A hand touched the small of his back, warm and steady, and a light sugary scent filled his nose. Lance rubbed at his back, slow small circles, and made a soft sound that Shiro didn’t want to call a purr, because omegas purred at pups, their pack, and their mates when they needed soothing and he didn’t need soothing. Yet the tightness in his back lessened and he found himself breathing in Lance’s scent, sweet and bright and fresh (Shiro was reminded of apples) and relaxing as it filled his lungs.

He felt like a child or a newly presented omega bumbling through their first heat all over again. He’d need to be calmed down by his mother during that as well, wrapped up in her omega scent until the worst of the pre-heat symptoms had passed. It was embarrassing to need something like that now, nearly a decade later and from a younger omega at that. But not so embarrassing that he refused the gesture or fought when Lance declared he was going to help him to his room.

“Lance-”

“Don’t. You need to be in bed not punching fucking robots and running a half-marathon when you’re in heat.” Lance huffed. Shiro wanted to argue that he wasn’t in heat, not yet, but the younger omega kept going, not allowing him to speak “Not even you are that badass, okay, so how you shut up and let me get you in bed.”

Shiro bit his lip then nodded. As much as he hated to admit it nothing else was getting done in there today. Maybe he could do some more research into the Galra and what they’d been doing between when Allura went into cryo and when they’d picked him and his crew up on Kerberos. There was 10,000 years of history to go through and a lot of information they needed.

They left the training room, Lance’s arm around his waist and his arm draped over Lance’s shoulders. Normally he wouldn’t let something like this happen, he was bigger than Lance, much heavier, trying to hold up some of his weight had to be killing him but he was hurting enough that he allowed it.

Just this once. (Or. Well twice if he counted his rescue back on Earth. Either way it had happened far too often. Leaning on people just wasn’t his nature.)

It wasn’t until he was falling into bed that he realized Lance hadn’t taken him back to his own room. Rather they were in Lance’s room; it wasn’t that much different, everything was neat and in it’s place like Shiro’s room but there was a lot more. A robe hung up, a bunch of jars and bottles of who knew what lined up on the desk, slippers in a far corner. It smelled like Lance too, especially the bed. Tart apples, a little sweat, and…something that was familiar but that he couldn’t put a name to. Sweet, almost syrupy, clinging heavily to the sheets Shiro was now lying on. It made him feel warm and his stomach clenched. His cock twitched, responding to the smell.

He started to push himself up, embarrassed at what was happening but Lance climbed up onto the bed with him and pressed him back down. “Nope, you stay put.”

His protest died on his lips when Lance stretched out next to him, pressed tight against his side and tossed a leg over his legs. His arm draped over his chest and his head came to rest on his shoulder; Shiro was surrounded by his scent, old and fresh, and it was almost too much. Almost made him feel trapped, near claustrophobic. And yet instead of being bothered (which he was. Sort of) Shiro found he was tempted to press his nose against Lance’s neck. He resisted, turning his head so he was looking at something other than Lance’s hair and the profile of his face, and made himself breathe. They were friends and teammates and the kind of closeness scenting each other implied was…beyond that. You scented family, pack, lovers and potential mates, pups…Lance wasn’t any of those things to him.

“Cramps?” Lance asked, voice a low sympathetic rumble as his hand slid down to rest on his lower stomach. Shiro nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth he’d…well he didn’t know what All the more reason not to risk it. “Must be bad. I could smell that you were in pain from out in the hallway.”

Shiro tried to smile but it was more of a grimace. “I’ve felt better.”

He could imagine Lance’s annoyed face: mouth twisted into a frown, eyebrows furrowed. “Oh yeah? It’s almost like going six years without a heat might have some unfortunate long lasting consequences or something, huh? Who would have thought. How crazy.”

Shiro stared at wall flatly. “Is there something you’d like to say?”

“Nope.” Lance popped the p, suddenly the picture of jovial friendliness again. Shiro wasn’t buying it and maybe it showed because Lance bumped against him gently, voice changing to something softer. “You know there are things you can do to help with the cramps?”

“Other than painkillers?” He asked, cringing at a twinge of pain deep inside of him, behind his stomach. “And not going into heat at all? No.”

Lance shifted and rolled half on top of him so his face was just above Shiro’s. Shiro felt something shift in the air between them, grow heavy and charged as Lance peered at him through thick, dark lashes. “I can help you out, if you’ll let me.”

Shiro started to shake his head and pull away. “I do not need help.” A jolt of pain hit him just behind the belly button, seemingly intent on proving him wrong. It wasn’t as bad as it had been before Lance had gotten there but it wasn’t pleasant. Worse he could feel that place inside of him starting to ache. It wasn’t anything awful yet, wouldn’t be for a while, but it was twinging soreness that meant his heat was coming on faster than he’d expected.

He remembered there being a few days of cramps before all the really annoying ‘inside’ stuff kicked in but this was running together much faster than that. Barely a day of cramps, if he counted having a sore back when he’d gone to bed last night, and now this. The fever would start by tomorrow at this rate and then-

“Why are you being so stubborn? Solo heats suck.” Lance frowned slightly. “A lot. I know you know how much better it is with someone else and holy shit are you blushing? …have you never been with someone during your heat?”

Shiro wasn’t blushing. He did feel warmer around the face and ears but maybe the fever was just coming on even faster than he’d thought. Maybe- “No, I haven’t. I told you, it’s been six years. I was _16_.”

“That is literally the saddest thing I’ve heard in days. Like half the Garrison wanted to fuck you?” Shiro’s eyebrows jumped up. Half the Garrison had wanted to do what?! “And you just…but fine. Okay.” Lance crowded closer, not stopping until their noses were almost touching. “Let me help you. You’re my friend and I don’t want you to be in pain if I can help. So please, please, let me do this. You are always doing things for us, let us do something for you.”

He looked so earnest, blue eyes wide and pleading, and sounded almost desperate and…well. Shiro did hurt. Having Lance close, smelling so soothing, was helping but it didn’t stop the pain. And it was only going to get worse. If Lance knew a way to help it was in his best interest to know it.

He nodded. “Fine.”

Lance’s smile was bright enough to light up a room. “Good! So. Take off your pants.”

“What?!”

Lance snorted then, as Shiro was gearing up to take back his agreement to accept his help and kick Lance out of his own room, closed what little gap there was between them to kiss him. Shiro squawked, tried to pull back but there was no where to go, and Lance pushed their mouths together harder.

His lips were smooth and soft, tasted a little like the fruity goo they’d had at lunch, and pressed against Shiro’s incessantly then moved so they fit together. Lance’s top lip slid between his and his tongue was there, sweeping over the seam and sliding inside when Shiro gasped in surprise and Lance was…kissing him. Deep and unhurried, tongue sweeping over his own as his eyes slide shut.

His scent gained a spicy note that blended with that fresh sweet smell so nicely. His hand, still resting on Shiro’s stomach, dropped lower to palm him through his pants. Shiro grunted, hips jumping up in surprise.

“You should kiss me. It works better if you participate.” Lance whispered against his lips, eyes cracking open just enough for Shiro to see they’d gone darker and there was a spark of something wanting and wild to them. “And I promise to make you feel so much better.”

Shiro shivered. Lance kissed him again, licked into his mouth without hesitation and Shiro, tentatively, reached up to touch the side of Lance’s face and kissed him back. He tried to studiously ignore the part of his brain screaming that this was a bad idea, that it was going to complicate everything, that this was what he was always trying to avoid.

Lance’s hand sliding up to start yanking at his belt and then shove down the front of his pants did wonders to block that part of his brain out. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Officially NSFW+ 'weird' omega biology. So if dudes with boobs or small dicks bugs you then this is you 'danger, danger, Will Robinson' moment.

The cramps were still there but the more time he spent bathed in Lance’s scent and under his heated touches the less they bothered him. There did seem to be some sort of inverse arousal to pain connection but he wasn’t thinking about that at the moment. No, all he could think about was how painfully hard he was and how long it was taking Lance to slide his pants down his hips and that he was wearing no underwear under them.

And, once Lance was standing there, pants and shirt gone, he could only stare in not exactly surprise and a fair amount of interest. His mouth was suddenly very dry.

Shiro wasn’t sure what he’d expected Lance look like under his clothes. He’d never thought about it before, which was not a slight against Lance but rather a factor of Shiro not letting himself think of his teammates that way. That Lance was also an omega wasn’t a problem for him like it would be for some people, Shiro found he was generally attracted to any combination of dynamic and gender on the occasion that he was sexually attracted to people, but he hadn’t wanted to cross that boundary with his friends.

He was far far over the line now. The line was a distant memory, lost somewhere between the point he’d started sucking on Lance’s tongue and had been encouraged to strip out of his clothes. He couldn’t even visualize the line anymore, all of his focus on Lance. Who was now standing over by his desk, rummaging through the containers lined up on it, opening them, sniffing them, then setting them down. And naked, save some ridiculous blue knee high socks with big cheerful lion faces on them.

Where Lance got his goofy lion themed stuff was still a mystery.

His lips were red, wet, and puffy; they’d kissed for a while, pressed against each other, legs tangled, breathing the same air until Shiro had been light headed and maybe whimpering as he tried to rut up into Lance’s hand. His hair tousled and when he looked back at Shiro his pupils were blown wide, bright blue almost totally swallowed by black. It was not a bad look, at all. Shiro wanted to tug him back into the bed, kiss him again, keep his scent closer, feel him against his body like he’d been before rolling away to get naked.

He knew it was the heat starting to get to him, easily brushing aside all of his concerns and making him itch under his skin with need. He knew, logically, that this was not a good idea. It was everything he didn’t want to let happen because it would change things. But Lance was right there, grinning at him, had just been touching him, had promised over and over to make him feel good and Shiro…wanted.

He wasn’t even really *in* heat and he was already letting it have control. But the urge was so strong and it…Lance wanted to help him right? So it was fine to give in a little. It wasn’t like he had tracked down Keith or Hunk to demand they bend him over the nearest surface and knot him or anything.

Probably not.

“You’re staring really hard.” Lance said, his lips quirking upwards as he climbed back onto the bed. “Does that mean you like what you see?”

Omegas were probably the most diverse dynamic in a physical sense. There was an ideal look, like there was for any group and neither Lance not Shiro really fit it, but for the most part there was no pegging someone as an omega or beta or alpha just by sight when their clothes were on. When the clothes came off though there were certain…commonalities among the males and Lance had some of those traits; more than Shiro did at least. There was a soft curve to his hips, really only noticeable because he was overall on the wiry side. He had breasts, very small ones that Shiro wouldn’t have guessed were there when Lance had a shirt on, and his cock and balls wwere on the small side. Shiro was pretty sure Lance’s erection would easily fit completely in his hand.

Some omegas found that to be a flaw, or embarrassing, but if Lance had a problem with how he looked it didn’t show.

To the contrary he was smirking like he could read Shiro’s mind as he settled to sit astride his thighs. He wasn’t heavy at all but he was solid and warm; where skin met skin tingled. That was the heat too, making him sensitive to touch but it was hard to think of it that way while looking up at Lance.

Hard to think of anything except how close Lance to his dick and how it it would have been so nice of him to touch it.

Lance unscrewed the lid to the jar he was holding, exposing a cream colored…goo? Gel? Something. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Your-oh. I…yes.” Shiro said finally then, feeling a strange urge to be completely honest, continued. “You’re cute.”

Cute wasn’t exactly what he meant but he couldn’t quite dredge up the word for how nerve destroyingly tempting Lance looked straddling him. How much he wanted to feel the soft places on him, grip the places he looked harder and more muscular, drag him back down to kiss the smirk off his mouth.

Lance blinked rapidly, visibly startled, then chuckled. “I prefer sexy as hell but cute works too. I’ll be quoting you on that later, might even want it in writing.”

Shiro laughed in spite of himself, a tension he hadn’t realized was there easing inside of him. He let his gaze fall from Lance’s face to his chest, mouth forming words before he could completely think them over. “Sexy is fine.”

Lance snorted then, setting the jar aside, grabbed one of Shiro’s hands and brought it up to rest against his chest. Shiro’s lips parted in surprise then, biting his lip, he swept his fingers over Lance’s skin. Lance’s chest really was pretty small, just enough to cup his hand around, round and perky, nipples a darker brown than the rest of him. He felt one, tracing the shape and getting a feel for the softness and the way his nipple started to pebble when he rubbed his thumb over it, then moved to the other. The spicy note in Lance’s scent became stronger and the other omega sighed, eyes dropping to half mast for a moment.

Then Lance sighed again, blinked, and reached to the side. Shiro glanced down to watch as Lance dipped his fingers into the jar and swirled them around. He could smell whatever it was; it was mild and mostly unoffensive, maybe a little…medicinal?

“So,” Lance said as he slide a little further up Shiro’s body. “There are three ways to handle pre-heat cramps. The first is getting an alpha to cum inside of you. Special junk in their…junk helps the muscles relax, but we’re lacking in readily available alpha dicks…unless you wanted me to go get Keith or Hunk?”

Shiro pinched his nipple then rolled the stiff nub between his fingertips. Lance’s breath stuttered and his thighs tightened around Shiro’s hips. Keith or Hunk being here was absolutely the last thing he wanted (even if his breath did catch and a jolt of sticky warmth flowed through him) and he was pretty sure Lance knew that.  

A slippery hand wrapped around his cock; Shiro jerked in surprise then moaned softly as Lance’s hand pumped up and down; his hand was warm, firm, and surprisingly soft as it gripped him. His thumb circled the crown, pressed just below the head then dragged down in a maddeningly slow stroke. “Two: getting off in general helps for a little while. And, lucky for you, I’m really good at getting people off.”

Lance shifted again, this time to bring him close enough for his cock to bump against Shiro’s. He wrapped his hand around himself as well, held their cocks against each other, and rocked his hips. His cock pushed up along Shiro’s, rubbing along the underside and against his balls, and his hand started moving again. Shiro couldn’t help but let out a quiet noise, toes curling and stomach jumping as their cocks rubbed together and Lance’s slick hand squeezed and stroked. He thrust up a little, experimentally, into the tight circle of Lance’s hand and his eyes slide shut as the younger omega purred approvingly.

He was going to have to give Lance credit where credit was due: this did feel really good. So much so that he forgot about everything except the slippery warmth around him, the delicious friction of Lance grinding against him, and was startled when Lance spoke again.

“Third is massaging inside. Fingers are fine. Toys are always nice.” Lance’s voice dropped, went low and raspy, words punctuated by the almost lazy way he was circling his hips to thrust into his hand and against Shiro. “Toys are really nice actually. I have some-”

“From where?” Probably the same place he got those knee highs and the slippers.

“If you’re interested. You look like a long and thick kind of guy and I have….some big ones.” Lance laughed breathlessly, not missing a beat or acknowledging his question. “But getting fucked works best, honestly, if the alpha is doing it right.”

His thumb swept over the head of Shiro’s cock, rubbed over over the dripping slit, and his hand twisted on the sweep down. He thrust a little harder, a little faster, matched that pace with his hand and his eyes darkened further. Shiro was still touching his chest, thumbing and groping the soft flesh, and his Galra hand had come up to grip the other’s thigh at some point.

The air became electric again, charged so much he was sure he could feel it against his skin, sparking. Lance ground against him, hips snapping forward then rolling in a tight circle.

“Have you ever been with an alpha?” His gaze was intense, boring into Shiro. He gasped out a no, shook his head as he fucked up into Lance’s hand. “Too bad. Alpha cocks hit all the right spots, get so deep, stretch you open so good. Hunk? Hunk is huge, and he’s always so sweet and careful at first; he’d make it so good for you. And once you were ready, relaxed just enough to take him all the way? He’ll destroy you. He’s strong, you know, makes you feel it in your bones, wears you out and leaves you a crying mess.”

Lance shivered over him, legs clamping down on his again. Shiro’s eyes were clamped shut, heart thumping so hard he felt like it was going to break free, muscles coiled and tight. Lance kept moving, kept jerking them off together, smearing precum and sweat over their cocks, and kept talking.

“I don’t know about Keith, not that i wouldn’t give him a go but he’s basically in love with you so I'm not sure that's ever happening. He’d probably do everything he could to show you a good time. He’s a try hard and I know he wouldn’t stop until you were spent and shaking, couldn’t remember anything but how good he felt inside of you, were willing to beg to be full of his knot your whole heat.” Wet slick noises filled the air, mixed with Lance’s voice, and a trickle of warm slippery liquid dripped onto Shiro’s skin where Lance was sitting on him. He could smell his slick, sugary and heady, and another surge of heat flared in Shiro’s belly.

“And being knotted? Is just…so perfect. It always burns at first but then you’re stretched open so wide and around them so tight. And you’ll feel like you couldn’t take anymore, like you’re going to be feeling it forever, so intense it almost hurts and then they come and it’s…so much. So hot, filling you until your stuffed full and leaking around the knot and it's always so fucking good.”

Shiro moaned wetly, bucked up hard, and shuddered as he came over their dicks and Lance’s hand. Lance swore, mumbled something that might have been “Jesus that’s hot” and started rutting against him more incessantly as his hand fell away.

Shiro gasped and squirmed, the continued friction if Lance’s cock rubbing up and over his own setting his nerves alight, until Lance was coming too. Hot pulses of cum splashed against his dick and stomach and a moment later Lance was collapsing against him, breathing hard against his chest.

Shiro was content with that, liked the way Lance felt stretched out over him enough to not care about the mess squishing and cooling between them. Then a thought occured.

“What did you say about Keith?!”

“Um.” Lance sat up, squinting at him. “No idea. My mouth to brain connection gets weird when I’m about to get off.”

“You said he-”

A knock on the door made him stop and turn to stare, eyes widening. “Hey, its Hunk. You in there?”

“Come in!” Lance called, grinning mischievously. Shiro choked then sat up, starting to push Lance off of him, as the door slid open.

Hunk stood there going from surprised to blank faced to that hungry look he’d been aiming at Shiro for the past two weeks. The smell of ‘alpha’ spiked, cutting right through the thick sex and omega scent hovering in the air.

“Oh. Hey.” Hunk said, words coming out as a rumble that made something hot flicker to life inside of Shiro's chest. “I can come back later? If you wanted to be alone." 

He looked at Shiro as he said it, as if Shiro wasn’t too mortified at being caught cum covered with Lance straddling him to even begin coming up with a response. And yet Hunk kept staring and Lance wasn't offering any commentary so clearly, yes, they were leaving it up to him. 

He swallowed then shook his head. "N-no. I’ll go. You stay.”

Lance huffed at him but didn’t fight being pushed aside or say a word as Shiro hastily pulled on his pants, grabbed the rest of his clothes and slid past Hunk.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Hance interlude. ...it moves the plot (hahahaha plot) along a little but it's mostly Lance and Hunk banging. We'll return to Shiro's pov in the next bit.

Hunk let the door slide shut after Shiro all but ran out, trailing sex, heat, and other scents that made Hunk’s mouth water, and turned his attention to a decidedly content looking Lance. Even if he hadn’t walked in on Lance and Shiro like he had, Lance straddling the older omega both of them splattered with cum, he would have been able to figure it out just by looking at Lance. Sleepy eyed, smug, flushed under the brown of his skin, and lips kiss swollen; it was a look Hunk had seen more than a few times.

“Have fun?”

Lance shrugged then held out a hand towards Hunk. He stepped closer, stomach twisting as he breathed in more of the mixed scent of Lance and Shiro, slick and sweat and omega, to haul the other up and off of the bed. He pulled him closer once he was steady on his feet, swept a hand down his back; Lance shivered as his fingers trailed over his spine and Hunk could feel goosebumps raising up on his skin.

“Shiro’s still getting to you?” Lance had been complaining (Or ‘voicing a totally legitimate issue’ according to Lance) about Shiro’s heat affecting his own cycle for a few days. They were all (except Pidge) feeling the effects of Shiro going into heat but Lance was probably getting the worst of it.

He nodded, sighing as he leaned against Hunk. There was warmth radiating from him, not a heat fever but warmer than he usually was. Hunk swept a finger along the cleft of Lance’s ass to sweep over his entrance, felt that he was hot and damp there. If Lance was getting wet that meant one of two things: his body was responding to an alpha's rut or he was going into/in heat.

They were about six weeks to early for the latter, Hunk kept careful track of Lance's cycle, but sometimes omegas could push each other into early heats. It came down to proximity and the strength of the heat and Shiro had six years of repression behind his.

There was an urge, a fluttering low in his chest that got stronger when as he circled his finger around Lance’s entrance and the omega let out a breathy sound, to push Lance back onto the bed. There was always that urge actually, Lance never failed to get him going like no one else Hunk had ever met, but it was even stronger now. It was how he smelled, really. Not just his own scent, that tart sweetness that was uniquely Lance, but the bittersweet touch of Shiro all over him.

This wasn’t the first time he’d gotten a whiff of Lance after the other had been with another omega but this was different somehow, stronger, more appealing. Shiro wasn't just some random omega from the Garrison, he was...well, he was Shiro. Their friend and leader, teammate, and Hunk was attracted to him, yeah, but there was more than that.

Shiro smelled like he belonged with them. Not to him, like part of Hunk's brain thought of Lance and he knew Lance thought of him, but close. With time…

He moved his hand to rest on the curve of Lance’s ass, squeezing absently. “You think your suppressants have any chance of stopping it?”

“Yeah. No. Pretty much screwed.” Lance shrugged then slipped away from him to head towards the bathroom. “Need to clean up some.”

Hunk’s lips twitched upward. “Don’t do it on my account, I like how you look now.” And smelled. Especially how he smelled.

Lance snorted. “Thanks, I guess. I’ll just be a minute.”

Hunk nodded at Lance’s back then, eyes drifting lower, asked: “You’re feeling alright though?”

And affirmative hum was his answer before Lance was out of sight and the sound of water running filled the small space. Hunk sat down gingerly on the bed, cock twitching as he breathed in the mingled scents, heat and slick and sweat, on the sheets. He'd actually had a reason for looking for Lance, he needed another set of hands for something he was tinkering with in the hangar, but that seemed like a distant and unimportant issue now.

It was distracting in the best kind of way. He wanted to just bury his face in the sheets and inhale, to taste the heady mix of sweet and salt on his tongue. It wasn't like him, he normally kept a tight leash on all the alpha junk and was very careful about the things he said and did. He let loose some with Lance, because Lance liked to be bitten and sniffed and scent marked, but there was a lot he held back.

Had to. People didn’t take kindly to alphas who seemed like they might lack for control or be anything less than completely in control and that was doubly true when said alpha looked...a certain way. It was all about walking on eggshells, be in control, be dominate, but not too dominate, not too intimidating.

“You wanted something, right?” Lance asked as he remerged from the bathroom, skin damp and wiped clean, and slightly less nude, in that he was wearing a bra and matching boy-shorts. Dark blue, lacy and sheer. The bra had triangular cups edged in white, cut in a way that just barely covered Lance’s nipples, with a little white teardrop shaped gem hanging in the middle. The underwear were simple, showed just a hint of cheek at the bottom and clung tightly to the small bulge in the front.

Hunk blinked then swallowed, averting his eyes. He was never sure when Lance was in the mood to tease, and it went without saying that the omega knew what Hunk was weak to and cute lingerie happened to be somewhere near the top of the list (and rarely seen because Lance usually went braless and considered underwear strictly optional) or just being oblivious to the fact that he did things to Hunk when he looked like that.

“Hunk?” Lance called, sounding impatient.

“Huh? What?” He asked, staring hard at a point on the far wall. Lance was quiet for a moment and then he was laughing, loudly. The bed dipped and Lance touched his shoulder, called his attention back to him like he was a flame and Hunk was a moth.

Lance smiled at him, eyes bright with humor. “Heat is making my boobs swell. They’re kind of sore.”   

Hunk looked down; Lance’s chest did look a little more full. Not much but Lance was small enough that even a small change was noticeable. It was one of the typical pre-heat symptoms for him but usually there was a lot of whining about it on Lance’s part.

He met Lance’s eyes again. “Did you want me to do something about it?”

He nodded, sliding closer. “A little help would be nice.”

It was easy to reach for Lance and haul him into his lap then have him sit up straight so he was hovering a bit above Hunk, arms looped loosely around his neck. He pushed his fingers under one of the soft cups of Lance’s bra, eased it up and out of the way, to move his fingertips over the soft swell. He thumbed along the bottom, smiling as Lance’s quiet inhale, then swept his fingertips up to massage gently in sweeping circles. He avoided his nipple, just taking in the feel of warm skin, the give and bounce under his fingertips, the way the nub hardened when he blew over it.

Lance, never one to stay still, squirmed against him, ass grinding against his crotch with tight circles of his hips, and gripped his shoulders tightly. The friction combined with Lance’s body heat sent sparks up Hunk’s spine, made his mouth tingle around his alpha teeth. His cock filled, became stiff in his pants, and Lance slowed down, became more deliberate with his movement as if there weren’t layers of fabric between them.

Hunk let his hand fall back to Lance’s ass, squeezed roughly then slide it inside to trail over soft skin. Another squeeze and then he was pressing into the crack of his ass again, feeling where he was starting to leak slick. Hunk pressed against the tight pucker as he tilted his head down so he could replace his fingers with his mouth.

He ran his tongue over the small mound, trailed along the underside then up to Lance’s nipple, flicking the hard peak then blowing over it again. He moved his hand over to the other side of his omega’s chest, teased him through the thin fabric of his bra as he swirled his tongue around the exposed nipple. Lance exhaled, a soft puff of air over the top of Hunk’s head. He could feel his erection against his stomach, felt Lance rubbing against him then rocking back into the finger petting and teasing at his hole.

“You know what would make this better?” Lance asked huskily.

Hunk blinked up at him then crooked his finger to push it into Lance. It was an easy slide, he was soft and wet inside, opened up for him with barely any pressure. Lance’s head tipped back, giving Hunk an eye full of the long stretch of his neck. He wanted to bite it.

“That is not what I was getting at.” Lance pushed back, trying to urge his finger deeper. “But also. Fine.”

Hunk sealed his lips over his nipple and sucked, tongue continuing to flick and curl, and pinched and pulled at the other, eventually pushing his bra up completely for more skin to skin contact. Lance did most of the work otherwise, alternating between rutting against Hunk and riding his finger. His hands swept over Hunk’s back and shoulders, curled around the back of his neck, and scratched at him when he worked a second finger inside. He pressed deep, felt along the fluttering slit of Lance’s internal entrance then dragged back down. He twisted his fingers a little then moved along slick convulsing walls to find that raised spot. Lance’s body went tight for a moment, mewling as he arched up and dislodged Hunk’s mouth with a wet pop.

He settled after a moment and Hunk dove back in, got his mouth onto spit slick skin and bit down hard enough to make Lance gasp then groan, low and drawn out. He followed it with a light kiss then fit his mouth around Lance’s breast again.

Lance fucked himself on his fingers in earnest, rocking back and forth then bouncing shallowly, shaking when Hunk’s put pressure on his prostate. He held him tighter, pressed his lips to the top of his head and let out the sweetest sounds as he moved. Slick coated Hunk’s fingers, trickled down over his palm, and the damp sweetness in the air grew thicker.

Lance came with a shout, body tight to Hunk’s as he convulsed, and Hunk felt a warm wet spot spreading over the front of his shirt. Hands touched his face, forced him to tilt his head up, and Lance kissed his hard. It was wet and rough, spit and tongue and teeth clashing, then fell into quick pecks and nips as Lance settled against him.

“Feel better?” Hunk asked between breaths and kisses. He felt the curve of Lance’s mouth against his.

“Kinda sticky and wet now but yes.” He pulled away and, winking, slithered out of Hunk’s lap and onto the floor. Nimble fingers started to undo his pants. “Looks like you might be sore here.”

Hunk laughed in spite of himself then lifted up to let Lance ease his pants and boxers down. “That’s horrible and you should be embarrassed.”

“Fuck you.” Hunk arched an eyebrow. Lance stuck out his tongue...and dragged it over the head of his cock.

He pressed the flat over the tip then circled the crown, laved over the slit as his hand gripped the base and started pumping along the shaft. He mouthed wetly along the underside, tongue pressed tight to the sensitive vein, and back up licking and slurping the entire way. The saliva helped ease the rough friction from his hand and the noises added to the coiled pressure in Hunk’s stomach.

Hunk dropped back onto his elbows, licking his lips as he watched Lance work. His mouth stretched wide and, blue eyes peering up to catch Hunk’s, slide down over his cock. Lance’s tongue is there, gliding along the underside, and Hunk bumps against the roof of his mouth before sinking further back into the hot cavern of his mouth. It’s a slow push, halted for a moment when Lance convulsed around him, gagged then swallowed before sliding up with a loud filthy slurp.

He pulled all the way off, licked and kissed wetly while his lips curled into a playful smile, before taking him back into his open mouth. Lance’s was so very good at this, suction and rough tongue curled up against him as he started to move up and down on his cock. He touched the top of Lance’s head, stroked over it, but otherwise did nothing but watch.

It was a nice sight, Lance’s mouth stretched around him, spit leaking out past his lips and down his chin, down Hunk’s dick, eyes half lidded, face flushed. His cock moving in and out, fucking his mouth, the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed and took him in deeper. Lance moaned, raspy and wanting, and the vibrations traveled up Hunk’s cock.

His hand was still moving, twisting around the base and stroking up over what wasn’t in Lance’s mouth to meet his lips. Hunk tugged at his hair lightly and Lance made a noise in the back of his throat before sliding down on his further, letting his cock into his throat. Hunk swore, toes curling, as soft heat spasmed around him. Lance gagged and backed off a little then returned, slurping messily as he swallowed around him. Lance’s other hand touched his leg, his inner thigh, swept down to cup his balls then press at the skin behind them.  

Hunk bit his lip, drank in the sight and the sounds, rocked up just a little to thrust into Lance’s mouth. Some other time Lance would have happily begged him to fuck his mouth and that was nice too, came with it’s own odd sense of alpha satisfaction as he watched Lance choke around him but keep begging for more, but that wasn’t today. So he kept it easy, let Lance set the pace, and enjoyed the eager attention.

His orgasm bubbled up a little slower that way, simmered as he tried to hold off because Lance’s mouth was so nice and the almost content look of his face made his brain short out, and when he fell over the edge it was with a muffled moan of Lance’s name. The omega’s hand tightened around the base of his dick, ready in case his knot decided to swell, and he swallowed around Hunk, only letting a little slip out past his lips.

Lance pulled off with a wet pop, hand still in place, dribbling thick ropes of spit, then pressed his face Hunk’s inner thigh. He was breathing hard but smiled when Hunk stroked a hand through his hair again.

“You need to clean up and change again.”

Lance pressed up to chase his hand and hummed. “‘S fine. I knew what was going to happen when I put this stuff on. I’m just too sexy for you to resist. Or the other way around. Both?” 

Hunk tugged him up into his lap and kissed him, licking some of the salty bitterness from his mouth, and willing himself not to grin like a moron.

“Probably both.” He agreed once they’d dropped back onto the bed, Lance’s head pillowed on his shoulder. 


	5. Chapter 5

Shiro had a problem. Not cramps; a few hours after basically running from Lance’s room there was only the occasional twinge of mild pain. Not because he could feel a burning in the pit of his stomach, a tightness in his chest, or even because he was starting to feel out of place in his skin, trapped and strange as his scent continued to change. It wasn’t that his skin was becoming so sensitive that his clothes were suddenly too rough, too constricting, too hot. 

All of those things were problems but nothing he didn’t remember from heats when he’d been younger. It wasn’t even that he could feel the omega part of brain lurking on the edges of his awareness, teeth bared as it paced and waited to take over. It was hungry and greedy, ready to pounce after so long of being denied and ignored. he knew it wasn’t a separate beast, not really, and yet the image of an animal lying in wait under his skin couldn’t be shaken.

It was going to be a bad heat. He’d tried to tell himself otherwise, that it wouldn’t be any different from the heats he remembered, but he knew better now.

But that still wasn’t his problem was that he smelled like Lance. It was something he hadn’t foreseen happening but if he’d thought about it ahead of time he would have been prepared for it. Not that there was anything he could have done about it because sex, the mingling of sweat and cum and whatever other fluids were involved, was the most effective way to pass one’s scent to another but he wouldn’t have been so surprised to step out of the shower and realize he could still smell tart apples clinging to his skin.

And he wasn’t the only one.

“You smell even worse now.” Pidge informed him when he slunk into the dining room for dinner. “How long is your heat going to be assaulting my nose?”

Pidge was sitting in her usual spot, laptop open in front of her, Allura and Coran were present but seemed absorbed in the small holographic image of a planet, swirling blues and purples, and Keith was nowhere in sight. Lance and Hunk were very much there, sitting so close their shoulders were touching, heads tilted towards each other as they spoke quietly. They went quiet when he walked in, both glancing up at him. He passed behind them and couldn’t help but wonder if how mingled their scents seemed to be was a matter of proximity or something else.

Lance did seem to have…intimate knowledge of Hunk after all. Really intimate. That he didn’t seem to mind sharing. Shiro didn’t know what to make of it, or their closeness and way their scents were mixing, at all.

He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, fingers drifting over the scar tissue, and said nothing as he got a bowl of dayglo orange goo then claimed the seat farthest from everyone else. Only then did he speaks, fixing the young alpha with a flat look.

“Thank you Pidge, you’re making me feel so much better about this.”

She snorted softly, glasses glinting in the light. “Don’t be mad at me because you smell like you’ve been rolling around in Lance sweat.”

“Are you saying I stink?” Lance demanded, sounding as if someone had told him he was a terrible pilot or something like that, not that they didn’t find his scent pleasing.

Pidge’s nose wrinkled. “When your smell is mixed up with sex and way too much flowery smelling soap? Yeah.”

That caught Coran and Allura’s attention. They looked up, identical expressions of curiosity in their faces and Shiro was hit by the sudden impulse to just curl up into a ball under the table and stay there for the rest of the night.

It wasn’t as if he’d wanted to leave his room smelling like this. He’d given showering another try, two more tries actually, scrubbed himself harder, used more shower gel, made sure he got every inch of himself even though it left him uncomfortable to be so rough with his newly sensitized skin.

It hadn’t helped any, the scent of Lance and sex seeming to have sunk into his pores and refusing to let up. He’d tried covering it up the only way he thought might help which was how he found himself in bed with a hand on his cock, trying very hard to not think as he jerked off. He didn’t masturbate often, between suppressants affecting his libido, general disinterest, and a year with the Galra he’d gotten comfortable not doing it. And when he did it, in search of the release or to help him sleep, he’d gotten good at not really visualizing anything specific. Featureless faces, unfamiliar hands, genderless body; that was what he imagined when he had to conjure something up.

He didn’t want to think about Lance, with his long legs and those touches of softness to his body or the feel of his lips and hand, the weight of his body. Or Hunk, with his rich earthy scent, the heated way he watched him lately, and all of the things that had come out of Lance’s mouth that would ensure Shiro was never able to look the yellow paladin in the eye ever again. Or Keith, who had a scent like burnt ozone and something that made Shiro think of ash, who was still avoiding him much to the frustration of Shiro’s more ‘omega’ nature and who he couldn’t seem to get out of his head.

Needless to say he failed at not thinking and came with a kaleidoscope of images and scent memory playing in his brain. It wasn’t even that he was thinking about doing things with them, just…them in general. He was willing, needed to, chalk it up to his heat playing with his head but that didn’t stop him from feeling very strange about it.

On top of that he didn’t actually manage to cover up Lance’s scent so much as add another layer of sex smell to everything and get himself worked up enough to start producing slick. Not much, just a little dampness that was uncomfortable after so long without that happening.

But it meant his heat was very close and that his body was still racing through all the lead up as quickly as it could.  

He’d seriously considered just staying in his room and coming out when he was sure everyone was sleeping to get something to eat but he’d dismissed that idea. Lance had to be carrying his scent as well so it wasn’t like there was any hiding things. Better to just bite the bullet and not be a coward about things.

He had some regrets.

“Is this about your reproductive cycle?” Allura asked, leaning forward some. “I understood you and Lance are of the same ‘dynamic’ and cannot reproduce together, but he is still able to aid you with your ‘heat’?”

Shiro found her enthusiasm to learn more about them, and their ‘reproductive cycles’ slightly off-putting. On Earth they didn’t exactly go around talking casually about heats and ruts and how people smelled, but there were soaps made to dampen and cut through heavy scents so a person didn’t have to advertise every time they got laid to the world. But Allura approached it like a fascinating research project, amazed by how different humans were from Alteans.

“I’m equal opportunity.” Lance said, eyebrows wiggling. “Any dynamic, any gender. Humans. Aliens.”

“You’re desperate.” Keith grumbled as he stepped into the room. “And a-”

He stopped, eyes narrowing and head swiveling around; Keith’s lips parted and his nostrils flared; he was scenting the air. Finally his eyes settled on Shiro, who swallowed anxiously at the rapid flicker of emotion in the alpha’s eyes. Surprise, anger, heat, and finally something dark and unreadable. Shiro wanted to shrink away from the intensity of the look, so heavy it nearly had a physical presence. He didn’t balk, wouldn’t allow himself to do so even if part of himself was howling over upsetting Keith.

He licked his lips, pretended not to notice the way Keith’s eyes followed the motion. “Keith. Is something wrong?”

Allura made a noise of agreement, eyeing Keith with concern. “You look pale. Are you coming down with something? Space flu perhaps or, oh, is this about Shiro’s reproductive cycle as well?”

Keith blinked, looking faintly surprised as if only just realizing where he was, then frowned and turned on his heel to go back through the door without a word. The sour milk smell of upset alpha stayed in the air, filled Shiro’s nose.

He hesitated for a moment then stood up, chair screeching as it scraped over the floor, and made to follow, ignoring Lance calling after him.

This was the sort of thing he hadn’t wanted to deal with, the reason he’d wanted to be alone for his heat. Things could get weird and complicated and instincts could get confused for actual feelings, like in the case of an alpha who was close to an omega and suddenly had their body screaming things like ‘mate, claim, take’ at them. At least he thought that was what might be happening. And he knew better, had been witness to all manner of drama at the Garrison, heat partners where one half assumed too much and the other was only interested in company for the week. Alphas who got into fights over potential mates or just because an omega they were both friends with went into heat, omegas who did the same, betas who missed certain social cues and found themselves dealing with furious alphas or omegas as a result. He’d seen a lot of things and wanted no part of it.

Just another reason to not deal with heats and relationships in general.

“Shiro, hey!” He heard Hunk shouting after him but didn’t acknowledge it, trying to follow the sour smell through the maze of the castle’s halls. “Shiro wait.”

It was a testament to Hunk’s speed, something people might not expect to look at him, that a moment later he had caught up and was grabbing Shiro by the armored to force him to stop. Shiro bristled at the contact, wondered if Hunk would do the same to a beta or an alpha then dismissed it because no, Hunk wasn’t like that.

But.

“What? I need to talk to Keith.”

“You should leave him alone for a little while, let him work it out.” Hunk said, hand sweeping down his arm to touch his wrist. “It’s just a little alpha tantrum. Trust me, I have experience.”

Shiro looked at Hunk, tried to read his face, before deciding that yes. This was the person who would be honest with him. “Because Keith likes me?”

“Did Lance tell you that?” Hunk asked, looking like he wanted to laugh. “We all like you. A lot.”

Shiro huffed, wanted to be annoyed at that non-answer but there was Hunk’s thumb again, stroking over the scent gland in his wrist, forcing him to feel calm. He pulled his hand away, biting out a sharp ‘don’t do that.’ Hunk frowned then grimaced.

“Sorry, I didn’t…Lance and I…it’s a thing I do for him sometimes. When he can’t think or calm down or sleep.” He looked nervous, apologetic, and his scent took on a soft note Shiro didn’t think he’d ever smelled on an alpha before. “I didn’t realize I was…sorry. it won’t happen again.”

Of course he hadn’t meant anything by it. Hunk wasn’t the kind of alpha who’d go around using an omegas weak points or trying to assert dominance with his scent or voice. He was…nice. Sweet.

And would destroy him if Lance was to be believed and he was not thinking about that. …he was thinking about it a little, couldn’t help but be acutely aware of how wide Hunk’s shoulders were, how thick his arms. He knew Hunk was strong, could probably lift him or hold him down  without much issue and-

Still he wasn’t sure he believed it, Hunk was just so mild tempered and thoughtful, caring to a fault. It was impossible to picture him being rough with anyone.

…sort of impossible. Not as impossible as Shiro would have liked.

“It’s fine. You’re fine. I’m just…jumpy.” That wasn’t it really, or even that his heat was making him emotional. He was uncertain about what to do, about Keith, about his heat, about everything, and he wasn’t used to not having at least some idea of what to do.

Shiro looked down the hallway, forced to admit he was unlikely to catch or find Keith now, then leaned against the wall with a sigh.

“You feeling okay? Lance said you were having a rough time earlier so he was…helping you out.”

Shiro flushed hotly then, the embarrassment he’d felt when Hunk had walked into Lance’s room and seen them coming back, snapped. “Was that before or after you two had sex?”

They had, hadn’t they? He was positive. The closeness, the intertwined scents…were they dating? Just screwing around? Did Hunk not care about what had happened between him and Lance earlier? There were a lot of people who thought omega-omega sex didn’t ‘count’ and Shiro thought that was pretty dumb but better that than getting involved in some sort of relationship issue or cheating thing.

“Let's say during.” Hunk’s tone was casual, not embarrassed or ashamed, but there was a surge of heat in his eyes and his warm earthy scent changed again, became thick and musky. “Lance likes to talk.”

Shiro’s stomach flipped. “I noticed that. He had a lot to say about you.”

Hunk’s lips quirked up into a smile that was heated and a little sharp around the edges. Something in him purred in delight and heat flared under his skin, low in his gut. “You want to head back to eat?”

Not really, no. “Yeah, we should do that.”

Hunk nodded and, when Shiro fell into step with him to go back the way they’d come, touched a hand to the small of his back. Shiro shivered as sparks raced up his spine.

“You sure you’re okay?”

Shiro nodded. “Just. Feeling warm.”


End file.
